Section 3 - PSY325 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES:

Essay due Tuesday November 23 in lecture

Instructions

• Choose 1 of the 3 topics (listed on pages 2 and 3) to answer.

• Write a 1,000-1,500 word written assignment (approximately 4 double-spaced text pages, plus a Title page and a
References page). The word count includes the entire paper, so the total number of words included in the Title page,
text pages, and References page, all taken together, must not be less than 1,000 words and must not be more than
1,500 words. No exceptions will be made. A penalty of 20% will be assigned to any paper that is either above or
below the acceptable word count range. In addition, for any paper exceeding 1,500 words, the additional words will
not be read. Include the word count on the Title page of your paper.

• Assignments MUST be submitted directly to Professor Vickers as a paper copy in class on Tuesday November 23.
Attendance will be taken after papers are handed in to ensure that Professor Vickers knows who handed in a paper.
Only paper copies handed in to Professor Vickers on November 23 in class will be accepted. A penalty of 20% per
day will be imposed on a late assignment. No extensions will be granted on the assignment, unless there are
legitimate documented extraordinary circumstances.

• An electronic version of your assignment (identical to the printed copy you handed in) must ALSO be submitted to
Blackboard on Tuesday November 23 by 7pm. An assignment will be considered handed in only when both the
printed copy and the electronic copy have been submitted. A penalty of 20% per day will be imposed on a late
assignment. To upload your paper to Blackboard, log on to our course Blackboard site and select the Assignments
folder. You will then to be prompted for the document (your paper) to upload. The Blackboard site is connected to the
web-based plagiarism checking programme [Link]

• Consider this assignment to have two major grade components: Objective (1) is presenting accurate, complete
answers to the issues mentioned in the chosen topic, and Objective (2) is doing so in a written form that is clear,
coherent, and consistent with APA format.

• To address Objective (1), your paper should include reference to at least 3 empirical outside sources (in addition to
textbook or lecture material or other material given to you through this course). Your task is to find answers to the
issues included in the topic you choose, and then write up your answers. Professor Vickers will not tell you the
answers, as one major part of this assignment is to review appropriate research on your own and make good
decisions about what the research, taken together, tells us. Professor Vickers and the Teaching Assistant will help
with questions you might have as you yourself find the answers, but drafts will not be read. Empirical outside
sources are scientific references that were not included with this course. For example, if you choose topic 1 on the
next page, which gives you an article to read, you still need to find and cite 3 more outside sources. Likewise, topic 2
and topic 3 on the next pages also give you an article to use, but you still need to have 3 more empirical outside
sources. Journal articles are the best empirical outside sources to use. Books or chapters in books can sometimes be
acceptable provided they are rigorously written in a scientific manner (check with Professor Vickers before using a
book as one of your empirical outside sources). Websites not connected to the Ryerson library are not appropriate.
This means that Wikipedia cannot be used, nor can any website that comes up via a google search. Journal articles--
what you want---come up as webpages through the Ryerson library system, and these are fine.

• To address Objective (2), writing style is important; students are expected to write clearly, formally, and properly. APA
format is required. Use of quotes is not acceptable – you should show me that you clearly understand the information
presented in the articles you’ve chosen. No direct quotes should appear in your paper. Papers including a direct quote
will be penalized a 20% penalty. Paraphrasing is an acceptable practice. The idea with paraphrasing is to write about
the ideas presented by the original authors in the article, BUT YOU WRITE IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS (WITHOUT

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 TRANSPLANTING ANY OF THEIR ORIGINAL LANGUAGE). When you paraphrase, you must still cite the original
authors appropriately. Remember, the reader of your written assignment may not have read the original articles that
you read, so you must write about them in clear and simple language. The reader is relying on you to translate
information from the articles, which will most likely contain complex scientific terms, into easy-to-understand English.

• You are expected to work on this assignment independently. Regard the assignment as a take-home exam, and
present your own work. Professor Vickers will thoroughly investigate any instance where in which two students’
responses are extremely similar. Additionally, you cannot use written work you yourself did in another course. This
assignment must be an original presentation of your justified thoughts, bolstered by the empirical research.

Topics (Choose 1 of 3):

1. Panic Reactivity in Eating Disorders

• Overview the evidence that links abnormalities in serotonin to eating disorders.

• Overview the evidence that links serotonin abnormalities to increased panic attack symptoms in the carbon
dioxide challenge.

The Perna et al. (2004) article (in the Course Information folder) tested the hypothesis that eating disorders are
associated with increased panic attack symptoms in the carbon dioxide challenge. Read the Perna et al. (2004) article
carefully. Since serotonin abnormalities are associated with increased panic symptoms in the carbon dioxide
challenge and eating disorders are linked to serotonin abnormalities, participants with eating disorders might have
shown increased panic symptoms in the Perna et al. (2004) study. But this did not happen. Explain you think this did
not happen, in two ways:

• Explain the theoretical reasons why eating disorders may not be connected to enhanced panic symptoms in
the carbon dioxide challenge. Justify your response by referring to empirical research.

• Then also explain the practical reasons why Perna et al.’s (2004) study may have been methodological
flawed.

2. Long-Term Effects of Early Stress

Read the Miskovic et al. (2009) article (in the Course Information folder) carefully and supplement with detailed
empirical sources to address these specific issues:

• Overview the evidence that links exposure to stress during childhood (such as through child abuse) to
disturbed development of the brain and the stress response system.

• Overview the evidence that links exposure to stress during childhood to increased susceptibility to
psychological issues throughout one’s life.

• What evidence suggests that children who are exposed to stress during childhood tend to experience
difficulties in parenting, such as greater parenting stress, when they themselves have children later in life?

• What psychological interventions have shown promise in helping those who suffered stress during childhood
to be better parents, themselves, when they have children?

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 (Topic 3 is on listed on the next page)

3. Exposure Treatment for Anxiety Disorders

• What are the differences between in vivo exposure and systematic desensitization? Which is a more effective
treatment for specific phobia, in vivo exposure or systematic desensitization? Justify your response by
referring to empirical research.

• Two major ways have been used to apply in vivo exposure treatment. In varied exposure, the patient
confronts different feared stimuli across exposure sessions. So, for an example, consider a patient who is
afraid of all types of dogs. A patient doing varied exposure would confront a large dog in one session, then a
small dog in another session, another dog in the next session, and so forth. By contrast, in constant exposure,
the patient sees the same feared stimulus over and over again across exposure sessions. So, returning to the
example of a patient who is afraid of dogs, doing constant exposure, the patient would confront the same dog
in each session. Which approach, varied exposure or constant exposure, is more effective for treating specific
phobias? Justify your response by referring to empirical research. Make sure to read and cite the Rowe and
Craske (1998) article, included in the Course Information folder.

• In some contexts, when it is extremely difficult to have the feared stimulus actually occur in the lab, therapists
use cognitive exposure, instead of in vivo exposure. The disorder of PTSD is one such example, since the
feared stimulus is a past trauma. Clearly explain how cognitive exposure is used as a treatment for PTSD.
Does it work? Is varied exposure or constant exposure better? Justify your response by referring to empirical
research.

• How would a therapist apply cognitive exposure to treat the disorder of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?
Should the exposure be varied exposure or constant exposure? How well does the treatment of cognitive
exposure work for GAD? Justify your response by referring to empirical research.

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FAQ for Written Assignment PSY 325

(1) What do I need to do in this assignment?

a. Decide which one (of the three) questions you wish to pursue. Respond to only one question. If you
respond to more than one question, only the first response will be read.
b. Select at least 3 empirical outside sources (outside of the textbook and class notes and articles included
in the Course Information folder) to cite and use in your written assignment. The references should
indicate that you have explored the topic in greater detail than was provided in the textbook, and should
be directly relevant to the topic/issue. You can use your textbook and classnotes, but these sources do
not count towards your required 3 references. The empirical outside sources must be scientific published
works, such has journal articles.
c. Write a 1,000-1,500 word paper. This is approximately 4 double-spaced pages of text, plus a Title page
and a References page. The word count includes the Title page and the References page. The total word
count should not be below 1,000 words and should not be above 1,500 words. Papers will be penalized
with a 20% penalty for not conforming to the specified word count
d. Appropriately cite all references used in your answers.

(2) Where do I find the 3 articles?

a. You must use original empirical articles from academic psychology journals, NOT newspaper or
magazine reports or websites. An empirical article is one in which the authors are describing the results
of studies.
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 b. Many psychology journals are available either electronically or in hard copy, through the library. The best
way to access academic journals is not to google them; rather, the way to access them is through the
library, which gives us free internet access to hundreds of academic journals. To find appropriate articles,
search through the PsycInfo database that Ryerson University has access to.

To do this, go to the library main page, click "Articles and indexes", then ‘search by subject area’ (which is psychology of
course). Next, there will be a link to "PsycInfo" - click there and search for topics that you are interested in. A good way to
do this is through the Advanced Search button. Here, use major terms that you are interested in (e.g., carbon dioxide and
panic). Put each major term on a line (put 2-word major terms such as carbon dioxide in quotes on the same line –
“carbon dioxide”) and indicate that you are looking for those words to occur in the Abstract. Then connect the words with
the AND option.

The next step is to either refine the search further (e.g., add other search words and do another advanced search), or if
you are pleased with the search, you can start reading through the listed articles’ summaries. When you come across one
that you find interesting, you can download it (for free). You should not be paying for articles; any online request for
payment is an error for enrolled students. Most articles can be acquired this way; occasionally, you will stumble across an
article that Ryerson doesn’t have online. If so, the way to procure this is to go in person to the Ryerson library. If Ryerson
does not have the article at all, you will use the Inter-Library Loan service.

c. If you are having problems finding articles, or if you want to check out whether or not your articles are
appropriate for this assignment before you write it, please come and see me or your TA.

(3) How do I put my assignment together?

a. A formal essay style should be used for each question. You can use the word “I”, but you should be
presenting your informed opinion that is justified based on the empirical evidence.
b. Include a title page and reference list.
c. Include the word count on the Title page of your paper. The word count includes the entire paper (title
page, text, and References) and must lie between 1,000 and 1,500 words. Papers will be penalized a
20% penalty being outside the specified word count (either too few--under 1,000 words, or too many--over
1,500 words). In addition, any words above 1,500 will not be read.

(4) What format should I use?

a. Double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman font (or equivalent) with 1 inch margins all around.
b. Use APA format within the paper and for referencing. This is a psychology course, and thus you are
expected to use the conventions for editorial style as specified by the American Psychological Association
(APA) for this writing assignment. This means…
• Number your pages in the upper right-hand corner
• Include a title page (with your name, course code and section, Professor’s name, and the date)
• Include a reference page. In APA style, the title on the reference page is “References”, NOT
“works cited” or “bibliography”.
• Use proper within-text citations (for common questions, see the APA weblink provided below)
[Link]

(5) Can I use quotes?

a. No, use of quotes is not acceptable – you should show me that you clearly understand the information
presented in the articles you’ve chosen. No direct quotes should appear in your paper. Quoted material
will cause a loss of marks. Quoted material will cause a loss of marks. Papers including a direct quote
will be penalized a 20% penalty.

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 b. Paraphrasing is an acceptable practice. The idea with paraphrasing is to write about the
ideas/concepts/findings presented by the original authors in the article, BUT YOU WRITE IT IN YOUR
OWN WORDS (WITHOUT TRANSPLANTING ANY OF THEIR ORIGINAL LANGUAGE). When you
paraphrase, you must still cite the original authors appropriately (in APA format).
c. You MUST acknowledge all sources in the paper using correct referencing. If you do not known what this
means or if you have any questions about how to write this assignment, please come see me during
office hours before the due date.

(6) How do I submit my assignment?

d. Assignments MUST be submitted directly to Professor Vickers as a paper copy in class on Tuesday
November 23. Attendance will be taken after papers are handed in to ensure that Professor Vickers
knows who handed in a paper. Please note that due to the large numbers of students enrolled in Arts
courses, we are unable to accept assignments submitted by email or by fax. Please do not slip the paper
under the professor's office door.
e. An electronic version of your assignment must ALSO be submitted to Blackboard on Tuesday November
23 by 7pm. To do so, log on to our course Blackboard site and select the Assignments folder. You will
then to be prompted for the document (your paper) to upload. The Blackboard site is connected to the
web-based plagiarism checking programme [Link]

(7) Additional Information

a. Keep electronic copies of your Written Assignment! In the unlikely event that your written assignment
cannot be found, you will be required to produce a copy within 24 hours.
b. There are numerous resources for writing help at Ryerson University, including the Ryerson Writing
Centre, which offers free one-on-one tutorials on all aspects of written work (e.g., grammar basics,
“writer’s block,” and academic referencing systems). More information about the Writing Centre is
available on its website: [Link] The Writing Centre can be contacted at:
416-979-5000 EXT. 7192
c. If you have any questions, please ask
Danielle MacDonald, Teaching Assistant: [Link]@[Link]
Professor Vickers: kvickers@[Link]
Or please come to Professor Vickers’ office hours (Fridays 3pm-5pm in JOR832)
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